The proposed is to further characterize a sub-class of chromatin which is not in a typical "beads-on-a-string" configuration. In the past this sub-class of chromatin was released by trypsin. Effort will now be placed on substituting bromelain for trypsin since the former appears to circumvent a precipitation problem which in the case of trypsin has necessitated the use of low levels of nuclease. Bromelain will also be used in attempts to disperse regions of chromatin which are specifically labeled (but apparently condensed, at least in the cells tested, by matrix elements) by HMG-biotin-avidin-gold complexes. In addition, I will attempt to characterize the "long" gaps generated by low levels of DNase I digestion. The low level of DNase I used to produce these gaps and their subsequent disappearance at higher levels suggests that they could be intermediates in the digestion of active sequences. This will be tested by protecting them, in preparative quantities with gene 32 protein, followed by digestion of unprotected sequences. I will also continue investigation of base-pairing properties of single-stranded particles generated by Exo III and DNaseI.